Howls of Romance
by The DC
Summary: A complete reboot of an incomplete KibaHina tale: Following the Fourth Great Ninja War, Konoha has finally settled down, while emotions stir and rise up! Hinata finally acts on her feelings while Kiba sacrifices his own emotions, and an unforeseen threat looms over the village. How will Kiba endure and how will the village tackle this threat?
1. Tears of the Sacrificial Canine

_This is a complete reboot of a previous piece of art (lolno) written back in 2010, when I was in my first year of high school. As a graduate with the same enjoyment of the KibaHina fandom, and for writing, I thought I had to come back and re-create something old into something beautiful. The setting takes place a year after the ninja war, so if you aren't caught up to date with the Manga, beware of a massive spoiler that's part of this chapter._

**Chapter 1: Tears of the Sacrificial Canine and the Unknown Princess**

It has been exactly a year since the Fourth Great Ninja War came to an end, and life seemed to finally begin to come to an ease. Konohagakure, along with the other four Great Ninja Countries, had been left in shambles following the Juubi's resurrection and Madara's chaos at the end of the war. Reconstruction was extensive and priority for everyone, and even the period of mourning had not gone underway yet because the lives of everyone revolved around the restoration of the countries. Dead into the winter season, reconstruction has finally seized, and the time for memorial and tribute was now. The snowfall was light tonight.

Bowing his head in silence as an enormous list of names was read, Kiba stood among his teammates, listening and honouring each and every name. Only a few of the Konoha 11 were in a specific location for this ceremony, each for some similar reasons, some for different. Sasuke's name was cleared following the war, and he successfully left from the village after deciding he would become the Kage of Otogakure and reform it from an enormous laboratory, to an actual village.

Shikamaru, Ino, and Hinata however, were with their clans as a result of the deaths of Shikaku, Inoichi, and Neji. A large monument was unveiled during the ceremony that had all three of the deceased on the statue, seemingly showing them defending what seemed to be every other Konoha ninja that died during the war.

"With our closing statements for these noble Konoha shinobi, we will eternally honour them by placing this in front of the Konoha entrance gate for all to see." Spoke Tsunade. Snow delicately floated down her blonde hair, colliding with unforeseen tears down her face. "We know you will all be watching us through the Will of Fire, and I know the Will of Fire will be embedded within each and every one of you." Tsunade spoke, as a cold breeze whisked through the air of the village with the snow coming to a halt. Sheer silence, not a single sound or motion, was heard in that moment.

Kiba had paid a particular amount of attention to his crying teammate, Hinata, who was with the rest of the Hyuga clan. His own emotions hadn't been sorted out properly, but he knew he felt total sadness to see Hinata in such distress. All he could keep hearing from Hinata was simply: "If only…I w-was just a little…b-bit stronger.." Hinata stuttered, tears rolling down her face as she barely kept herself composed.

Those words had been engraved in Kurenai, Shino, and Kiba's head. Each of them tried to reassure Hinata that Neji gave a noble sacrifice to save her and Naruto, but deep down inside, everyone knew she hadn't let go of his death, and today was really showing it.

Upon the conclusion of the event, everyone had departed to home immediately after such an emotionally tiring day. "Alright Akamaru, we're not going just yet. Head up to those high hills!"

With a gleeful bark, Akamaru carried Kiba and dashed towards the hill, immediately stopping and sitting as Kiba got off. They both waited, but to Akamaru, what they waited for was unknown. Kiba had been staring down below, gleaming at the memorial statue that was placed as he thought to himself. The snowfall began to accumulate on the statue, accelerating as the temperature dropped.

"Shit Akamaru, it's getting damn cold on here."

"Woof!" _Much agreed Kiba-San._

Emotions had been everywhere for everyone recently in the village. Now that everyone could settle and think for once, love and bliss has erupted for many. It had become evident that Gaara was aware of Shikamaru's and Temari's unannounced relationship, but in total surprise, Gaara allowed Shikamaru to travel with him back to Sungakure to recover from his father's loss and know another better. It was rumoured Choji may try to court Ino, and Sakura's emotions were a conflicted mess.

Sakura could not decide whether to be with Naruto or Sasuke. Go with Naruto, whom she knew would be the best for her, or Sasuke, her unattainable desire? The sheer thought made Kiba growl, alerting Akamaru who caught on. Poor Hinata was in the middle of the triangle; all the wanted was Naruto to acknowledge her feelings. Kiba had to sacrifice his own love in return of having Hinata happy, and the sheer thought of the ridiculous situation infuriated both Akamaru and Kiba.

Akamaru yelped, as he spotted Hinata headed towards the statue. In a feint whisper that the canine duo could barely hear, she spoke: "Neji nee-san…today is the day I try…I told myself I would stop chasing Naruto once the war ends, and I'm ready to tell him once and for all…" she muttered.

Kiba immediately rushed down, alerting Hinata until she recognized her team mate. "Kiba-kun! Why are you here?" she asked.

Not thinking of how this would work out, he improvised and parroted to her: "Well, I remember the entire Naruto thing. Ya know, he's probably headed towards Ichiraku right now. When are you going to do it?" Kiba asked. Unbeknownst to Hinata, a small tear had formed on the corner of his eye lid for the briefest moment, interrupted by a random snowflake that caused Kiba to panic.

"Oh god no, not there please no it's too cold no!" Kiba screamed, wailing in every direction.

"I'm surprised you remembered, Kiba-kun."

With a feint blush, she stammered: "I w-wanted to right no-"she was immediately cut off as Kiba grabbed Hinata and threw her onto Akamaru. Kiba hopped on as well, directing Akamaru towards the shop in which he obliged. Hinata was incredibly confused, but accepted the situation for what it is: Kiba and Akamaru were escorting her to Naruto. The star was shining with the snow tonight, painted with all kinds of mystical colors with the snow blending in; the season of winter was just underway.

"Thank you Kiba-kun!" she exclaimed, hugging him quickly before Akamaru and Kiba ran in silence. Before Hinata could question, the Hyuga heir spotted the Uzumaki, blushing feverishly until she remembered what she promised to Neji. With all her might, she walked up to Naruto, who seemed happy to see her.

"Hey Hinata! Wanna eat some Ramen?" asked the village hero.

"…..y-y-yes I-I do!" her stammering erupted into a shout, alerting everyone near as Naruto chuckled. Hinata practically wanted to run into a ditch and cry, but she swallowed her embarrassment as she went inside the shop.

While Hinata was in her gleeful bliss among the rest of the village, Kiba and Akamaru lied on their beds, preparing for their sleep. As Akamaru dozed, Kiba opened his window slightly while muttering: "I'll be back buddy…sleep tight."

Kiba immediately leaped out of his window and into the twilight of the village lights. Sprinting through the snow, Kiba once again ran to the very same hills he had been in earlier, avoiding any kind of attention as he frustration bottled up further. Once at its peak, Kiba pounded into the ground, headbutting it as blood slightly trickled out of his mouth and he continued to scream in frustration. The snow had now been tinted with a slight red as a rest of Kiba's recklessness, in a complete response to his frustration with assisting Hinata.

"When are you going to put yourself ahead for once?"

_Those beautiful, lilac eyes._

"Why will you confess to Hinata?"

_That heart-warmingly delicate smile._

"Why are you emotionally torturing yourself like this?"

_The most tender and soft personality known to man, only wanting to be loved._

"Why, Kiba?

Kiba froze in complete shock. It was a woman's voice, but he was far too in the heat of the moment to recognize. Peering further while holding his caution, a shadow emerged from nearby trees, only to reveal the visitor to actually be the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.

"L-Lady Hokage, what the hell are you here for?!" he screeched in embarrassment. Had the village head, the damn leader of this village, just witness that display of ultimate _pussery?_

"Because I was on my home after…winning a few games." Tsunade stated, before Kiba could realize it was simply a losing game of gambling. "I can't have people figuring out that I sneak out every now and then for some fun—Anyhow, forgetting all of that! You seem to have all this emotion for Hinata, how long have you had it for and why won't you just man up with it?

"Years. I kept lying to myself and stating it was nothing more than concern, because I didn't want to interfere between Naruto and her. Days turned into years. Next thing you know, her happiness is the most precious thing I have. You feeling me Tsunade?"

"You're quite comfortable to be calling me that. I won't take exception though, so don't be intimidated. Here, let's take a walk, and let me teach you how a shy girl works. Once upon a time, I used to be the shyest Genin there was until I discovered sake and gambling. Let's talk." Tsunade commanded, grabbing the absolutely confused Kiba by the shoulder as they strolled into the forest of trees nearby.

**Chapter 1: End**

_Expect All Chapters To Be Around This Length All! I do enjoy writing, and seriously tend to get lost in it. I truly hope you all can enjoy this, I'll be adding hopefully another chapter tomorrow!_


	2. Shadows and Papers

_Time for Chapter 2! My first review was met with some opposition, but I will state, I accept all reviews, critical or not. If you dislike it, don't hesitate to voice yourself! Now that a few parts of the setting has been nailed, I can begin adding in much more dialogue._

**Chapter 2: Shadows And Papers**

The opportunity arrived at last, Naruto sitting next to Hinata while eating ramen. The once unfeasible and insurmountable objective was completed, much to Hinata's delight. The two sat in the leftmost stools, both chowing down on Naruto's signature order of Miso Ramen with Katsudon. Hinata quietly listened to Naruto as he spoke in his never-ending manner.

"Hinata, I'm telling you, Menma is awful, substituting it for Udon is the best way to go. You know, you should eat more ramen in general, and you should also stop being so weird every now and then and talk more. How come you were so weird when you were younger though? I never really understood that?"

Hinata couldn't even tell if Naruto had paused, or if he stopped to ask that question altogether. Incredibly embarrassed and sent into insecurity, she began to twiddle her fingers together.

"See! That weirdness!" Naruto shouted as once again, everyone around the shop stopped to stare at Hinata while she looked down to cover her mortified face.

"Geez Hinata…I didn't mean to make you feel bad or anything."

"N-No it's okay N-Naruto-kun."

"…Okay! So anyway, where was I?"

"_I wonder if Naruto-kun would notice that I slightly curled my hair today…"_ Hinata thought. Listening to the blonde ninja, he continued talking about his favourite ramen ingredients, until for a split second, he halted. That split second instantly turned into a conversation within himself and the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kurama.

"Naruto, are you completely oblivious to this girl?"

"Uh…what do you mean?"

"Do you remember what she had said to you when she intervened in your fight with Pein?"

"…Oh. I really forgot about that one. That must be why she's here. Oh man, I didn't think of this as a dinner date. Shit. What should I do?"

"Explain to the girl, gently. Don't be an idiot about it."

Naruto then looked at Hinata with a small frown and a sigh.

"Um…Hinata?"

Before Naruto could explain the situation, they were both interrupted by Team 7's kunoichi, Sakura. The pink-haired woman looked at both Hinata and Naruto before becoming slightly flustered with a hint of rage.

"I should have figured this, Naruto." Stated Sakura, seething of annoyance in her tone as she rolled her eyes.

"First, this isn't a date!" Naruto exclaimed, as Hinata's eyes darkened as she nodded her head down.

"Second, why are you getting so jealous when you're after Sasuke!" Naruto screamed. At this point, everyone in the shop and outside had peered in to witness this commotion.

"I wanted to tell you that I want to be with you, but then I see this!" Sakura retorted in frustration.

"Naruto, let me handle this." Kurama demanded, as Naruto slipped into his subconscious, trading places with the demon. Both Sakura and Hinata appeared visually uncomfortable.

"Alright, Sakura. I'll start with you. You've led Naruto on a game of cat and mouse for the past four and a half years. You know what you have done to the boy, and even after Sasuke had attempted murder on you, you continued to pursue him for the most unknown reasons. At this point, I'm not even sure why Naruto would love someone like you."

By the time Kurama had finished his statement, Sakura had been quivering, holding in her tears as Kurama looked at Hinata.

"Hyuga girl, I want to be blunt and tell you, I'm sorry. I can see those tears you're holding back in your eyes, but know there will be people around to care for you and romance you. Naruto isn't the one to, as his heart belongs to Sakura—I'll stop now."

Hinata slowly stood up, as the now calm Sakura felt a sense of massive guilt for how she reacted to Hinata.

"Hin-"

"Let the girl go, she cannot have something like this sugar coated."

Walking through the crowd of Konoha, no one seemed to notice the tears streaming harshly down her face. Her delicate eyes were purged with a ruthless river of tears running down, soaking her eyes and her face. Slowly sobbing as she walked towards the Hyuga compound, she was reminded of what she had promised to Neji.

"…_I tried, Neji-nee san."_ She whispered, before dashing into the compound and avoiding all contact with everyone there. Barging into her room and slamming it shut, she leaped onto her bed, crashing her face into her pillows as she wept heavily.

"_W-Why was N-Naruto k-kun the only one…to ever notice?!" _she screamed harshly into her pillow as she cried further. Snow and moonlight tainted her windows, brightening her messy lilac hair and lighting her bed from the darkness around. Looking towards the moon, she wondered to herself.

_Naruto-kun isn't my light, then where is it?" _she gently cried out. Out of nowhere, she heard the keyhole of her door being unlocked, immediately covering herself with pillows and blankets to avoid talking to anyone. With the door unlocking, she heard footsteps approach her bed, much to her anxiety. However, she did not expect for her father, Hiashi, to toss the pillows and lift Hinata from her blankets before embracing her warmly.

"I'm sorry." He spoke, letting his eldest daughter gently sob in their embrace.

During the entire fiasco, Tsunade had walked with Kiba through the light forest of trees that surrounded the higher area of Konoha.

"Okay, when will you stop being such a bitch about this Kiba!" Tsunade screamed. Kiba nodded while Akamaru barked, simply because she had a point, despite Tsunade's visible intoxication.

"You know Naruto has never paid the slightest hint of attention, so why not pay her the extra attention Naruto won't give Kiba!"

Kiba continued to absorb all of this in. Tsunade had a point.

"You've always acted as the tough-as-nails hardass around here, where is it now?" she questioned, poking Kiba as he nodded.

"Don't fucking nod, respond damnit!"

"Right here!"

"That's not enough!"

"Right fucking here!" Kiba screamed, as Tsunade nodded and smiled.

"Good, get that crap out of your system. It's completely unlike you to be such a pansy. Have Akamaru keep you in check! And ask yourself, what will you accomplish by doing nothing, Mr. Inazuka?"

"Nothing."

"Not just nothing."

"Absolutely nothing?" Kiba questioned.

"Yes!" she drunkenly exclaimed, before stumbling and sliding on Kiba's shoulder. "I kinda need to go home now, ahaha."

"No shit, you look like a train wreck."

Tsunade couldn't even respond. From the route they approached, Kiba would end up on top of the Hokage's Mountain Monument, and eventually slide into the Hokage building to drop off Tsunade. Kiba had to admit though, Tsunade reeked of alcohol, and he also shivered at the thought of an ANBU catching them and sending them into questioning.

"Damn, you really have to figure your shit out."

"yeeeaauugh"

"Okay." Kiba ignored as they exited the forest of trees and approached the mountain. "We're going to take a leap here."

Doing so, they narrowly landed onto Hashirama's nose. _"Don't slip, don't slip. What's the point of everything if you slip? Kiba, don't slip"!_

Panicking Kiba slipped while still having Tsunade with him. The Hokage was far too groggy to witness what was going on, and inadvertently saved both Kiba and herself as she took a step down, perfectly landing on the ground without any regard or consequence of the altitude they fell from.

Panting heavily, he snuck into the main building that Tsunade resided in, placing her on the balcony before quickly leaving. Tsunade immediately fell backwards onto the floor, knocking out as a puddle of drool formed around her mouth.

"_I wonder."_

The snowfall began to increase while the moon exposed itself into the night sky. Taking a stroll among the crowded street, he passed by a local convenience store and bought teriyaki jerky to satisfy his enormous hunger that he developed from the emotionally tolling day. At was near midnight, and his house was further down the street. Kiba's thoughts were interrupted by whispers from others in the street.

"Did you see that one girl? She looked like her life crashed down on her. I felt bad for not helping, but I'm a busy guy."

Looking towards the direction of the conversation, Kiba approached what appeared to be a local street vendor and his friend.

"Hey guys just had a question for you. I didn't mean to be an invasive asshole, but I heard you guys talking about the crying girl. Do you know what she looked like?" Kiba asked.

Nodding, the both responded: "Yeah, she had some dark hair. I mean it's kind of hard to see people specifically in this street, but she had some dark hair."

Understanding, Kiba left a courteous tip to the vendor as he walked off, lost once again in thoughts.

"_I didn't even realize the extent of my own emotions." _Kiba thought.

"Hyuga girl."

Kiba's eyes widened as his head jolted. Rushing towards a group of people that appeared to be on their way home, he accidentally startled them, noticing their defensive pose.

"Sorry guys, I wanted to ask if you saw a Hyuga girl running and crying, or something like that."

"Yeah, we were at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop, and the village hero Naruto put her down for someone else, and the girl just walked out and cried. She didn't run though, but she looked devastated."

_You've got to be fucking kidding me._

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Kiba wailed, startling the men and others around him. Sighing, Kiba looked at them.

"Sorry guys, slip of thought there. Thanks."

The men were completely confused as to what happened, but continued their venture through the street as Kiba arrived at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. Ayame and Teuchi both noticed Kiba, and informed him of the closing hours.

"Sorry, I'm not here to order. What I am here for though, is to ask if you guys saw Naruto, Sakura, or Hinata here today."

"Yeah I think all three of them were here earlier! They had a begin drama fest here, well, Naruto and Sakura did. Hinata walked out crying though…poor girl." Ayame concluded. Nodding Kiba waved them off in thanks, much to their confusion.

"_Shunshin No Jutsu"_

Immediately, Kiba began moving in high speeds, toward one particular compound. Kiba knew he had to be quick to move around, considering everyone in the damn house would notice a random person climbing their home. Kiba stopped moving when he heard a gentle sobbing, recognizing it as Hinata's. Instantly, his stomach began to shoot in all directions. Kiba couldn't help but to move closer to her window, peering from the corner of his eye to see Hinata embrace Hiashi.

"_Clearly, I wouldn't be able to do anything. Maybe if I play it like some mystery man?" _he pondered.

Kiba quickly rummaged through his jacket to find a small sheet of paper. Gently tearing a piece off and taking out some broken lead, Kiba prepared to write on the sheet of paper. Before he could do so, paranoia over his scent overcame him, causing him to wait for Hiashi to leave before preparing to use transformation jutsu.

"_I have to play it as safe as possible. Not a single detail of mine can be visible. Transformation jutsu!"_

In a brief puff of smoke, Kiba transformed into what looked like a black silhouette shadow. No details, no scent, nothing. The only obvious quality was that it was indeed a transformation jutsu, and anyone could see that.

Kiba approached her window, noticing Hinata was looking out.

_If only she could deactivate my jutsu on the spot and I could go in her room and kiss her, at least. Damnit. Kiba you idiot, stay on track!"_

Exposing part of his leg, Hinata jumped backwards in shock, and in terror. Realizing that she may use Byakugan to identify Kiba, he squatted and knocked on the window. Evidently, this confused Hinata.

"W-What in the world…" Hinata blurted, before getting into her gentle fist stance as she approached the window.

"I-I'm really n-not in the best mood for some…" she cut herself off as she read the writing on the paper.

"_I've always noticed and cared about you." _

Looking up in shock, the black silhouette jumped off towards the direction of the moon. Kiba didn't have any time left; the amount of snow landing on him would disrupt his transformation technique and expose him. The shinobi was right as well, as a puff of smoke once again appeared in mid-air. Hinata noticed this as her mouth was left open in shock, a small tint of redness on her cheeks. She could see the silhouette in the smoke, but she couldn't tell who it was.

"_Wait a minute, Byakugan!"_

Unfortunately for the girl, she barely caught a glimpse of the chakra. Judging by that very glimpse and how much was in flowing in the figure's system, it had to be an active shinobi. But there was not enough detail to figure out who it was.

Looking back, Kiba could see the Hyuga princess with her head outside of the window, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of him. And for that moment, he stopped moving. Landing on a nearby tree, Kiba stopped as the image of Hinata was just chiselled into his head. The image of seeing those beautiful, curious eyes with her mouth slightly open in surprise, and her luscious hair flowing with the wind and snow; it mesmerized Kiba, enough for him to lose all concentration.

_"Was her hair curled"_

While Kiba climbed back into his bedroom, Hinata thought about what just occurred. She was confused, but she was somewhat happy. Unable to tell if it was a malicious prank, she thought: _why would anyone go through all this trouble to prank her?_

Holding onto the small hope she now has, she tucked away the mysterious paper before placing herself in her awaiting bed. At the same time, Kiba had finally arrived back home. Observing how Akamaru was sprawled onto the floor under the bed, Kiba chuckled.

"I seriously need some sleep." Kiba whispered, crashing onto his bed instantly.

**Chapter 2: End**

_Hopefully you guys enjoyed! This chapter is significantly longer than the last, so by the time this story is done, the word length may have exceed 100,000! We'll see though! Once again, all opinions are encouraged._


End file.
